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https://www.newsweek.com/kinzhal-missile-developers-arrested-russia-vladimir-putin-ukraine-1801706

Kinzhal Missile Makers 'Deceived' Putin, Says Ukrainian Ex-Intel Chief
BY ELLIE COOK ON 5/22/23 AT 6:37 AM EDT

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The developers of Russia's hypersonic Kinzhal (Dagger) missile program
"deceived" Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to the former
chief of Ukraine's foreign intelligence service.

Mykola Malomuzh, who led Ukraine's foreign intelligence service until
2010, told Ukrainian media that the developers had touted the missile as
a "superweapon," but that its effectiveness had failed to live up to the
hype. Its capabilities have also been questioned by Western analysts.

This comes after the Kremlin said earlier in May that three scientists
who worked on the Kinzhal missile system's development faced "very
serious accusations," but declined to provide further information at the
time.

In an open letter published online, the colleagues of Anatoly Maslov,
Alexander Shiplyuk and Valery Zvegintsev protested the arrests of "three
outstanding aerodynamic scientists."

Russian MiG-31 Jets with Kinzhals
Russian MiG-31 supersonic jets carrying hypersonic Kinzhal (Dagger)
missiles fly over Red Square during the Victory Day military parade in
Moscow on May 9, 2018. The missiles have been touted as impossible to
intercept by Russia but Kyiv said it has shot down several of the
hypersonic weapons this month.
KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES
The letter from the members of Siberia's Khristianovich Institute of
Theoretical and Applied Mechanics in the city of Novosibirsk said the
three men had been arrested on suspicion of high treason. Shiplyuk was
arrested in August 2022 and Maslov was detained by Russian authorities
back in June, according to Russian state media.

Zvegintsev's arrest wasn't previously reported, but took place on April
7, according to Reuters, citing local media.

Separately, Russian physicist Dmitry Kolker, another scientist from
Novosibirsk who was arrested in Siberia last summer on treason charges,
reportedly died from terminal cancer in Moscow after being transported
from his hospital bed by the Russian security service.

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"The whole society was shocked and outraged" by his death, the open
letter said.

The Kinzhal hypersonic missile system has been touted by Putin as
"unrivaled in the world." Russia has said the air-launched missile, also
known by its NATO designation of "Killjoy," can accelerate to ten times
the speed of sound and has a range in excess of 2,000 kilometers, or
1,250 miles. However, Western experts have questioned the Kinzhal's
capabilities, and its designation as a hypersonic weapon.

Earlier this month, Ukraine's military said it had successfully shot
down six Kinzhals fired in an overnight barrage. Kyiv had previously
said it had intercepted a Kinzhal using a U.S.-made Patriot air defense
system, which Russia denied.

Malomuzh said the scientists were arrested after a Kinzhal strike failed
to cause the damage it was expected to.

The Kinzhal's developers "clearly positioned" the Kinzhal to be a
"superweapon that does not exist," Malomuzh said in an interview
published on Monday, adding they "actually deceived Putin."

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Reports of intercepted Kinzhal strikes show the attacks "ended in
complete failure," Malomuzh told Ukrainian outlet TSN. "Therefore, the
fate of these Daggers' developers will also end in complete failure,
because they undermined the strategic basis of Russia's combat
capability," Malomuzh added.

Newsweek has reached out to the Russian Defense Ministry and the
Khristianovich Institute for comment via email.

In their open letter, the three scientists' colleagues said they "know
each of them as a patriot and a decent person who is not capable of
doing what the investigating authorities suspect them of."

"We are not only afraid for the fate of our colleagues," the open letter
continued. "We just do not understand how to continue to do our job."

The Kinzhal was unveiled back in 2018 by Putin as part of a package of
advanced weapons, and Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said in
August 2022 that the missile had shown off its "brilliant
characteristics" in Ukraine.

A truly hypersonic missile would be very difficult for air defenses to
intercept, military expert David Hambling previously told Newsweek, but
stressed that "all the indications are the Kinzhal is simply an
air-launched ballistic missile" with a limited course-correction capacity.

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OldWarriorFella
1 day ago

A Ruzzian weapon that doesn't work as advertised. Whoever heard of such
a thing? I am just amazed that Ukraine is so able to use Ruzzian weapons
effectively while, in the hands of the Ruzzian soldier, they become junk.

I'm reasonably certain that the scientists mostly wanted very badly for
it to wor...

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Don P
1 day ago

We don't have one in production yet but at least we can be sure that our
prototype will actually do what it's supposed to when production
actually starts. Putin bragged about having a hyper sonic missile which
frightened the US and forced us to speed up our research. Now we have
one that actually w...

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1 reply

A couple of thoughts
1 day ago

The Kinzhal hypersonic missile system has been touted by Putin as
"unrivaled in the world."

So was his army, and his navy. Soon we will find out the same about his
nuclear capacity. And wait a little longer to find out that RuSSia isn't
even a real country.

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Michael B Maxwell
1 day ago

"RuSSia isn't even a real country." That would truly be ironic, given
that Putin has claimed that Ukraine isn't a real country. Two years ago
I wouldn't have cared, but now I look forward to the dismantling of the
Russian empire in the same way that the Soviet Union dismantled itself.

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1 reply

JimK
1 day ago

Can you imagine the discussion between Putin, Medvedev, Lavrov, Shoigu
and any of the other clowns involved when they decided to break out
these missiles? They know they're losing the war and these things were
supposed to be their ace in the hole. It had to be a serious discussion
to finally break ...

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Mydog Hasfleas
1 day ago

Also, can you further imagine if Putin decides to use nukes and they are
also easily shot down, or otherwise fail. That would tell the world that
Russia is toothless and has nothing to rely on except their incompetent
military.

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Don P
1 day ago

The scientist were arrested before the missiles were shot down.

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1 reply

99%
1 day ago

This is what happens when everyone is stealing everything, all the way
down the food chain.

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FabricatorGeneral
1 day ago

This is what happens when your only options in life are "tell the
dictator what he wants to hear" or "learn to skydive without a parachute"

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Wyrd
1 day ago

We know that Kinzhal is a hypersonic for a variety of reasons The real
take away is that the PATRIOT system is better than expected. China
is shaking in their boot because they know the SM-3 and SM-6 are far
more capable than the PAC-3 Chinese DF-27 hyper sonic missiles don't
stand a chance a...

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FabricatorGeneral
1 day ago

There's a reason hypersonics were dropped by most Western military R&D
departments in favor of stealth capability. For the most part they were
an overly specialized, overpriced tool that fit a very narrow niche. All
the speed in the world is only going to help so much before the weapon
starts deali...

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Bunker Runt™
1 day ago

Between you and me, Runt pocket most of the money "spent" on those
weapons programs. That our little secret.

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marcprou
1 day ago